As an academic librarian at a medium sized private university, it was really interesting to see how teachers (particularly those with a technology bent, since many are here for the ISTE conference) are trying to figure out the best ways to reach K-12 students these days.

I somewhat agree with Darren Wilson when he noted that "there was an obvious trend with a political and social agenda." Yes, that agenda was certainly there. But, I think teachers can more easily use topics such as environmentalism, green resources, or whatnot to get kids to be more active and involved in their education. The teacher should find out what the kids are truly interested in. If a kid is interested in making and selling widgets, then that motivation could be used as the basis for exploration into economics, business, ethics, and more. If a kid is interested in renewable energy resources, then the teacher could delve into energy exploration, land use studies, solar energy technology, and lots more.

What came first, the chicken or the egg? Are students interested in environmentalism or social justice topics because that is what they are worried about, or are the teachers simply doing a great job at getting the students interested in those "political and social agendas"?

I did hear the "library" word only once. (Maybe it was said more often, but I didn't hear it...) Either Pandora Thomas or Zakiya Harris mentioned the library in their talk. One of them said that students are simply not going to the library, nor are they using very many print books and newspapers, but, students do get their information from television and the Internet. Hummm, maybe their students are using library resources over the Internet, and they don't even know it?